One quality separates a refined palate from an amateur: the ability to detect secondary and tertiary flavors in wine. A big reason why most professionals are able to pick out these subtle notes is because they are more familiar with the winemaking process than a layman who only occasionally imbibes. Unlike the primary flavors that…
My parents live next door to a man who adores Burgundy; he’s been to the region three times in the past decade alone. One day, my mom asked him whether he was planning another trip soon. He answered, “No, but I have something even better planned: the best wine cellar you’ve ever seen!” As the…
Collectors often assume that a wine’s provenance doesn’t matter once they’ve bought their bottles and stowed them away in their cellars. This might be true if they only plan on drinking the wine, but if they want to resell the bottle later, the wine’s provenance still has a long way to go. I’ve bought bottles…
Sometimes, sellers will put a bad wine case up for auction without realizing there’s anything wrong with it. Take premox for example; unless you open one of the bottles, it’s not immediately apparent when a case of wine has been impacted. A collector might naively invest in a vintage that’s notorious for premox problems, keep…
A few years back, I invested in a case of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that I hadn’t personally tried, thinking it would be as good as the previous New Zealand vintages I’d sampled. Later, I opened the first bottle and discovered that I absolutely hated it. The wine tasted flabby and dull, and I thought…
Wine collections grow like bamboo; if you’re not careful, your bottles will easily take over every empty space in your house, and then some. I once knew a collector who started off with a modest smattering of Bordeaux tucked away in a cool, dark pantry cabinet. Months later, and two more cases deep, he realized…
Premature oxidation (premox) catches even the most seasoned wine collectors by surprise, and it’s easy to accidentally invest in an oxidized case at auction. Collector Billy Grippo has an expansive collection containing several thousand bottles at a time, and even he’s fallen victim to premox wines. Grippo explains, “A lot of people put their wines…
Even seasoned collectors feel insecure about their palates once in awhile. For the longest time, my Achilles heel was herbal notes. I could easily pinpoint dark fruit, citrus, and lavender, but grass, thyme, and eucalyptus always seemed to evade me. It wasn’t because those flavors weren’t there–I’d read multiple tasting notes that all picked up…
I often take for granted the fact that I am a relatively young collector. When I see that a wine will last 30 or more years in a cellar, I’m giddy with excitement; I know I’ll get to see that wine evolve completely and reach peak maturity. However, older collectors view these long-lived wines differently.…
When you’re deciding where to put the wine in your collection, you have a big decision to make: whether to store in-bond or out-of-bond. Neither of these options is inherently better than the other, but the costs vary depending on your collection. One collector might save hundreds of dollars on in-bond storage, whereas another might…
You might have better luck finding a real unicorn than you will locating an authentic bottle of 1991 Gentaz-Dervieux. With high ratings and an extremely limited number of bottles left worldwide, this is one of the most sought-after Rhone Cote-Rotie bottles on the market. Its rarity alone is enough to make any serious collector take…
You’ve likely heard of biodynamic winemakers racking the lees under the light of a full moon, believing that the clarity of the moonlight will also make the wine clearer. Did you know that many wine lovers and collectors are now tasting wine by moon phases too? According to those who swear by the technique, four…
